As the 2021 Summer Olympic Games set to kick into full gear this week, the city of Tokyo battles with a rise in new COVID-19 cases. Last Sunday, the Japanese city reported 1,008 new COVID-19 cases. This Sunday, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government has reported 1,763 new COVID-19 cases.
“The increase rate of new positive cases has been continuously rising since June. If the increase rate rises further, in less than two weeks, we will face a critical situation with the number of infections far exceeding that of the third wave,” government officials in Tokyo stated in a recent bulletin.
“There is an urgent need to prepare crisis management systems for hospital care, as well as for designated hotels for recovery and at-home recovery.”
The Tokyo Olympics have been hit hard by the virus as well. Twenty-six athletes have been forced to drop out due to the coronavirus. Beyond the competing athletes, 137 new COVID-19 cases have been tied to the worldwide athletic competition. Most recently, Spanish golfer John Rahm received his second positive COVID-19 test and was forced to drop out of the 2021 Summer Olympic Games.
Still, the Tokyo Olympics are set to move forward as previously scheduled barring complications from an incoming tropical storm.
